Travis Wetland Monthly Newsletter June 2018

June 2018

Workday reminder, June 16 2018

Meet at the education center (the old farm house) behind the Beach Rd car park at 9 am.

We will be working down the Matai / Totara area again.

Please wear appropriate clothing and footware, this area and access to it is wet.

All gear provided.

There will be morning tea afterwards for those that want to stay for a chat.

Latest News

Red Zone Futures

Red Zone Futures

That time has rolled around as signaled some months ago, and Regenerate Christchurch has opened its exhibition on the red zone futures options. The exhibition runs from 26 May until 30 June. It is a large display area in a building on Cashel Mall (at number 99). Regenerate staff are on hand to discuss the exhibition and its components and threads. There is also the opportunity to have a say and comment on what is being presented.

I strongly encourage you to go into the city and take a look at the exhibition, a good chance also if you haven’t been in recently to see progress on a number of central city projects including Council’s new central library and the convention centre. The library is virtually closed in now, and the convention centre coming out of the ground rapidly. If you can’t make it into the city the exhibition is also available online at the following link – www.redzonefutures.nz for your perusal.

The exhibition confirms the shortlist for activities to be located/carried out in the red zoned areas on the Avon/ Otakaro river corridor from the central city to New Brighton. Of considerable interest to me (and the Trust) is the maintaining of a green spine along the river. I think this is pivotal and is very strongly supported by the public at large. Also of note is the effective death of the rowing lake (multisports lake), in my opinion this is a positive in terms of both freeing up land for other uses more closely aligned with the TWT’s aims, and reducing the likely expected commitment from the public purse to ongoing maintenance and operation. you may or may not agree…

I note also that there is no express provision for a fenced eco-sanctuary in the proposal at this point. I don’t think though that such an option is foreclosed on, as large areas remain available for naturalisation/native regeneration and these could contribute towards a site for a sanctuary.

We need to keep in mind that this process isn’t to determine actual uses, but to develop a Regeneration Plan for the red zone, so that there is a degree of flexibility as uses are progressively established. While looking at the proposals advanced thus far you may also want to think about who might implement some of these and share your ideas with regenerate, as well as direct feedback on the proposed uses.

Article: Sean Ward

Images: CCC / Regenerate Christchurch

Planting Day Saturday 19th May

It was great to see a sunny morning for one of our big planting days for the year. Our mission was to plant about 300 young trees in the Matai-Totara area at the southern end of the wetland. It was a race for Trust members to place the plants before a group of about 70 volunteers arrived, keen to put their spades to good use.

Travis Workday May 2018

The area already has trees above head height from previous plantings and we hoped to fill in the gaps between them, increasing biodiversity by using a wide range of species. The trees we planted included kahikatea, matai, small-leaved coprosmas, mahoe, pittosporums and marbleleaf. The area has become much wetter since the earthquakes and kahikatea (white pine) should grow well now.

Planting proceeded at a rapid rate and we welcomed several new volunteers, including a large, enthusiastic group from Riccarton High School.

Soon all the trees were planted and we turned our attention to releasing native shrubs and trees from the stranglehold of weeds.

Colin Meurk addressed the group about the ecology of the area and how our planting will attract a variety of other plant and animal life. One day this part of the wetland should resemble Riccarton Bush with its towering giants.

Travis Workday May 2018

Post planting re-fuelling needs were more than met by a hearty barbeque at the Education Centre, thanks to Trust Board Members and Al our trusty BBQ chef.

Thanks to all who participated.

Article: Sue Britain

Visit from Marshlands Scout group, 28 May 2018

Seven scouts came out and a wet Monday night with their leaders to learn more about
NZ plants and wildlife for their bronze,silver and gold awards.
Due to the weather most of the learning was done inside, starting with identifying
8 native trees using potted examples. Eleanor explained distinctive features of each along with common and Maori names. Next up was bird identification using some stuffed examples of 5 NZ specimens. Names were removed from the samples and the scouts were tested on their ability to identify them.

Next up was the world of invertebrates. Denise and Grahame provided a good range of

Vagrant Spider, Genus Uliodon

mounted and live specimens and explained a little about their classification and habits. The difference between endemic and native species was discussed with examples from the butterfly collection. The live samples were a big hit. Pill bugs demonstrated how they roll into a ball and giant slugs slithered around. The stars of the night were two large vagrant spiders who became very animated thanks to the warm air from the heat pump.

We finished with a moonlight walk to the bird hide, braving soggy ground and passing showers. With our torches we could see examples of the trees we had identified earlier and look for invertebrate activity. Mostly we found just slugs on flax but could also see where insects had made notches in the leaves. Our live samples were released back to their favourite haunts and we were rewarded by the sight of 2 swallows resting on their nest in the bird hide roof.

Hopefully the scouts enjoyed the experience and will come back to visit the wetland during daylight hours. We wish them well with their awards.